Gallbladder issues. UPDATED POST 64

[mommasita]

A few weeks ago we were away for the weekend, after eating a steak dinner (and a few drinks), I got terrible pains in my stomach, proceeded to be really sick both ways. I was shivering and then sweating all night. I just thought maybe I had a drink too many , or had a stomach flu. Last night we had the same dinner, about two hours later, the same thing, but much much worse, and I was sweating and dizzy in the bathroom. No fever. I had terrible pains all night. It is so odd, I have eaten steak all my life. My husband and my son ate the same food.

I called my doctor this morning, he called me back, he thinks it might be my gallbladder. I sent my ultrasound request to the private clinic, so I should have that done any day. I really don’t want to end up at the ER, he did tell me not to be a hero, if it persists or gets worse to go.

I don’t think I have pain in my shoulder, it’s hard to tell, as I have shoulder issues. I have pain mid back, where my bra closes. Also my stomach pain is not always on the right, it’s often in the middle. I just wondered if anyone had anything to share. Thanks

 

[a1tinkfans]

Those symptoms do sound like gallbladder issues which often occur after fatty foods( full dairy/fatty meats/high fat foods). Usually within a hour the stomach pains start.. and nausea or vomiting.
I hope ur better soon and like the r dr said, if it feels or gets worse... don’t try n push thru it, get to a ER.
good luck!

 

[mommasita]

Those symptoms do sound like gallbladder issues which often occur after fatty foods( full dairy/fatty meats/high fat foods). Usually within a hour the stomach pains start.. and nausea or vomiting.
I hope ur better soon and like the r dr said, if it feels or gets worse... don’t try n push thru it, get to a ER.
good luck!

Thanks. I was kind of talking like I was in denial. My boss had hers out 2 years ago, and she said it sounded like that also. I just hope a change of diet helps.

 

[RogueX]

Gallbladder pain is miserable and nothing to mess around with. I got gallstones while pregnant and had my Gallbladder out a month after my daughter was born.

 

[OregonDisDad]

Sounds a lot like what I’ve experienced with what the doctor thinks are gall stones. I had a trip to the emergency room with this about a year ago, but have not yet had to have surgery. I’ve found that I can reduce/avoid symptoms by raising my arms, and when I sleep or lie down, I’m careful to be sure that I have an open airway. You definitely should listen to your dr, though. Gall bladder problems are no fun.

 

[mommasita]

Gallbladder pain is miserable and nothing to mess around with. I got gallstones while pregnant and had my Gallbladder out a month after my daughter was born.

Not planning on any messing around. I should go tomorrow or day after for the u/s, to see exactly what is going on.

 

[Aurora79]

I had my gallbladder out almost exactly 12 years ago. It went bad about half-way through my pregnancy, but they wouldn’t take it out until a month after I’d given birth. Those were some long, painful months with 3 emergency room trips because with every really bad gallbladder attack, they would have to monitor the baby for stress. Long story short, baby came out fine (and is now taller than me), and the gallbladder came out a month later. It was a very easy surgery, and I felt soooo much better afterwards. Recovery was pretty easy. I was really scared before the surgery too, but after it was done, I was so thankful to have that gallbladder out of my body!

 

[Kittyblue]

I was diagnosed at an urgent care, the pain was similar to what you describe. I had to wait a few days before surgery and I ate fat free during that time and didn't have any major pain. It's a temporary fix, but it helped until I could get it out.

 

[jo-jo]

I was diagnosed at an urgent care, the pain was similar to what you describe. I had to wait a few days before surgery and I ate fat free during that time and didn't have any major pain. It's a temporary fix, but it helped until I could get it out.

My DH had to wait several weeks before he could get it out and eating fat free/really low fat helped a lot.

 

[mommasita]

Sounds a lot like what I’ve experienced with what the doctor thinks are gall stones. I had a trip to the emergency room with this about a year ago, but have not yet had to have surgery. I’ve found that I can reduce/avoid symptoms by raising my arms, and when I sleep or lie down, I’m careful to be sure that I have an open airway. You definitely should listen to your dr, though. Gall bladder problems are no fun.

i will try those tricks you mentioned, thank you. I hope you don’t have another trip to the ER

 

[mommasita]

I had my gallbladder out almost exactly 12 years ago. It went bad about half-way through my pregnancy, but they wouldn’t take it out until a month after I’d given birth. Those were some long, painful months with 3 emergency room trips because with every really bad gallbladder attack, they would have to monitor the baby for stress. Long story short, baby came out fine (and is now taller than me), and the gallbladder came out a month later. It was a very easy surgery, and I felt soooo much better afterwards. Recovery was pretty easy. I was really scared before the surgery too, but after it was done, I was so thankful to have that gallbladder out of my body!

Glad it all went well. Ty for replying.

 

[mommasita]

I was diagnosed at an urgent care, the pain was similar to what you describe. I had to wait a few days before surgery and I ate fat free during that time and didn't have any major pain. It's a temporary fix, but it helped until I could get it out.

Thank you also. I’m trying now to alter my diet. It isn’t that hard yet, I have zero appetite.

 

[mommasita]

My DH had to wait several weeks before he could get it out and eating fat free/really low fat helped a lot.

Thank you! This is good to hear,

 

[MomOfDisneyPrincess]

I suffered 9 months with a bad gallbladder due to a misread of an ultrasound and being mislabeled with gerd. No change in eating helped. There was no safe food and I was miserable for months. It was my obgyn who convinced me to get it out, because he was sure it was gallbladder and not gerd. Sure enough, he was right. I visited with a surgeon who scheduled another ultrasound. It was FULL of stones. He showed me photos after surgery and it looked like a quarter cup of popcorn kernels.

Life was so much better after removal!

 

[mommasita]

I suffered 9 months with a bad gallbladder due to a misread of an ultrasound and being mislabeled with gerd. No change in eating helped. There was no safe food and I was miserable for months. It was my obgyn who convinced me to get it out, because he was sure it was gallbladder and not gerd. Sure enough, he was right. I visited with a surgeon who scheduled another ultrasound. It was FULL of stones. He showed me photos after surgery and it looked like a quarter cup of popcorn kernels.

Life was so much better after removal!

wow, that’s awful. Glad you finally got it removed! I hope nobody misreads mine

 

[DLgal]

While you are waiting, try not to have more than 5g of fat per meal.

I had a severe gallbladder attack put of nowhere 10 years ago. I didn't experience any nausea of intestinal distress though. I was overcome by a pain that was like a knife being shoved under my right ribcage. It was VERY localized and at the time my neighbor was a surgeon and I called him and he came over, had my lie down on the floor and he pressed his hand up under my ribcage and I howled in pain and he said "gallbladder." He was right. He actually drove me to the ER and showed them his credentials and told them "she might need emergency gallbladder surgery, take her in immediately to find out." My gallbladder was infected and full of stones, but the surgeon on call sai it was too risky to operate while it was so inflamed so he gave me IV antibiotics and told me to find a surgeon to remove it within a few weeks. So, I had to spend 3 weeks eating SUPER low fat. It was hard to do but any fat would trigger pain and I did NOT want to go through that again.

What you describe doesn't sound like my own experience, but my situation was sudden and not a chronic, long term situation.

One thought I had though was, do you typically eat a lot of red meat? Is there a chance you were bitten by a tick? There is a condition that can be caused by tick bites that basically makes you allergic/intolerant to red meat. It makes you incredibly sick when you do eat red meat, like you described. The reason I mention this is that a steak typically isn't a super high fat food. I had my attack after eating a huge burrito and Tortilla chips, which was a very high fat meal. And I never vomited or had diarrhea. I just had that incredible pain that took my breath away.

 

[bgirldeb]

One nice thing about the trip to the ER- if they decide it’s bad enough they’ll put you through to surgery. I had mine taken out after two visits during severe attacks (the first one I was worried it was appendicitis. The second visit, I was experiencing such severe pain and extreme nausea for an entire night. They put me through to surgery.

I felt better immediately after surgery. It was a night and day difference.

The surgeon did say that an infected gallbladder can be just as dangerous as an infected appendix if it ruptured. It is a serious issue.

 

[prairie_girl]

I don’t remember having stomach pains when I had a gallbladder attack. For me, it felt like someone had my ribs in a vice and was turning it as tight as it could go. The first time it happened I honestly thought I was dying. I had a…camera down the throat test..and they saw I had some stones. I had surgery when my daughter was six months old. Because I had a less than ideal (ex) husband, I was up and taking care of her the day I got home.

Hopefully you can get it sorted out without too much pain.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

My gall bladder symptoms were onset very quickly. When they first started, I had an odd feeling in my right side below my ribs. I couldn't tell if I was hungry or going to vomit. I did end up vomiting. The feeling turned into a vague pain over the weekend, but then let up.

Wednesday, after eating Chinese, I had incredible pain in my right side under my ribs. I felt like I was stabbed. In fact, the ER thought I was having a heart attack. The ultrasound found stones and that the gallbladder was inflamed. The gallbladder was so inflamed they decided not to do the surgery then, but gave me morphine for pain. I had my gallbladder out two months later after the information subsided. Oddly, I hadn't had another attack in between the first one and when I had the surgery.

 

[mommasita]

While you are waiting, try not to have more than 5g of fat per meal.

I had a severe gallbladder attack put of nowhere 10 years ago. I didn't experience any nausea of intestinal distress though. I was overcome by a pain that was like a knife being shoved under my right ribcage. It was VERY localized and at the time my neighbor was a surgeon and I called him and he came over, had my lie down on the floor and he pressed his hand up under my ribcage and I howled in pain and he said "gallbladder." He was right. He actually drove me to the ER and showed them his credentials and told them "she might need emergency gallbladder surgery, take her in immediately to find out." My gallbladder was infected and full of stones, but the surgeon on call sai it was too risky to operate while it was so inflamed so he gave me IV antibiotics and told me to find a surgeon to remove it within a few weeks. So, I had to spend 3 weeks eating SUPER low fat. It was hard to do but any fat would trigger pain and I did NOT want to go through that again.

What you describe doesn't sound like my own experience, but my situation was sudden and not a chronic, long term situation.

One thought I had though was, do you typically eat a lot of red meat? Is there a chance you were bitten by a tick? There is a condition that can be caused by tick bites that basically makes you allergic/intolerant to red meat. It makes you incredibly sick when you do eat red meat, like you described. The reason I mention this is that a steak typically isn't a super high fat food. I had my attack after eating a huge burrito and Tortilla chips, which was a very high fat meal. And I never vomited or had diarrhea. I just had that incredible pain that took my breath away.

I guess it is a possibility, I was at my sister‘s place that weekend up North. I didn’t notice any bites at all. No markings or anything. It would have had to have just happened, as we ate upon arriving and I got sick just after. I live in the city, and don’t believe I’d have been exposed Here.
I do eat a lot of red meat. I have had some since, just last night was the first steak since the last episode.

Thanks, I am going to go low fat. I don’t have to worry about dairy, I don’t eat any of that.